Tag Archives: tide pool critters

California, will you be my valentine?

What a weekend! Let me first squeeze it into a haiku:

Drive, tunes, ocean pools,
Bourbon, Elvis, hoops, stars, hearts,
Redwoods, ferns, beach, sun!

And now I can unpack it and add pictures:

Drive and tunes: gorgeous drive to the coast with a solid playlist courtesy of David D. We made a delightful stop at the Straw House Cafe, I highly recommend it if you are ever driving 299 to the coast.

Straw House Cafe on Rt 299
Straw House Cafe on Rt 299
View from the back porch of the Straw House Cafe
View from the back porch of the Straw House Cafe

Ocean pools: our first stop on the coast was Patrick’s Point State Park. We strolled through a forest of giant sitka spruce before descending to the rocky tide pools.

Sitka forest
Sitka forest
So close to the ocean! Is that a whale in the background?
So close to the ocean! Is that a whale in the background?
Tide pools at Patrick's Point
Looking for valentine candidates in the tide pools at Patrick’s Point State Park
Will you be my valentine?
Will you be my valentine?
Look at those muscles!
Look at those muscles!
Seals! (the white blobs on the rocks)
Want to seal it with a kiss? (the seals are the white blobs on the rocks)

All the valentine searching left us famished. Our hunt for food ended in the best veggie burger I have ever had; it was so good, I took a picture:

Nut burger at the Lighthouse Grill in Trinidad, CA
Nut burger at the Lighthouse Grill in Trinidad, CA

Bourbon, Elvis, hoops, stars, hearts: our evening activity was going to have it all!

Here's the flyer!
Here’s the flyer!

Please note, it was actually Psychedelvis – but that was too many syllables for my haiku.

I thoroughly enjoyed my evening. Here are some pictures to prove it:

These are the hearts!
There were heart signs everywhere!
Hearts!
Hearts!
Psychedelvis!
Psychedelvis!
Live painting!
Face paint!
Face paint! (another form of “live painting” =P )
Band!
Band! (The Lonesome Heroes from Austin, TX)

I do not have a picture of the hoops, but among the circus performers were some serious hula-hoopers.

The stars reference was also not photo-documented, so you will have to trust me on it. We went to the beach after the show, laid on the sand, and experienced the awe. I even saw a shooting star!

Redwoods: you can probably guess this one; here are the tree pictures:

So big! This was in the Lady Bird Johnson Grove.
So big! (This was in the Lady Bird Johnson Grove.)
Will you be my valentine?
Will you be my valentine?

Ferns: after the super trees, we went to see Fern Canyon. As its name implies, it is a canyon full of ferns. It is also famously known for being one of the Jurassic Park filming locations.

Fern canyon - a sight worth seeing!
Fern canyon – a sight worth seeing!

Beach and sun: out of the canyon and into the sunlight. I am told that we had atypical north coast weather, and though I am concerned for the redwoods, which depend on the cool, moist air, I thoroughly enjoyed the sun on my face.

Beach!!!!
Beach!!!!

Oh, and we also saw elk, on the beach!

Elk, on the beach!
Elk, on the beach!

I will close by restating my initial question:

California, will you be my valentine?

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 I am going to take that as a “yes.”

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